Netflix Supreme – January

Well, we’ve made it to (nearly) approximately 8.25% of the way through the year already. How are we doing? Are we coping well? I do hope so!

As the year goes on; as my Goodreads goals steadily increase; as my gym sessions carry on, I plan to write a heck of a lot more – whether that’s in a personal or public capacity, remains to be seen. To me 2017 lacked some minor aspects of personal development. Don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing year for a plethora of reasons, but it lacked something: being a 20-year-old in the 21st century.

This year is already different. I can sense it. At least, I can sense the still lingering Christmas chocolate that has magically replaced every ounce of blood inside of my body. I will not fall victim to the sugar demon! Though, I have fallen victim to the a more dangerous creature… The Netflix monster. We all know how dangerously addictive that creature can be!

Every month, starting with this month, I’ll be writing a piece about what’s captured my imagination over the past month: musically, visually, and printed.

This month we start with, well, the deeper end of the proverbial pool.

The End of the F**king World (Season 1)

Dark. Gritty. Gruesome. This black comedy comes via way of Channel 4’s, starring Alex Lawther as James, and Jessica Barden as Alyssa: two estranged teenagers – James, a wannabe psychopath, and Alyssa, the rebellious classmate. Oh, and James wants to kill her…

The pair make for an unlikely duo, and as their crimes begin to add up insurmountably fast, you’ll learn to love their socially inept ways, no matter what they get up to. Theft. Breaking and entering… Murder?

The End of the F**king World clocks in at just under three hours in length, making it the perfectly binge-able show to watch on your empty Friday night in.

Insidious: The Last Key

Amongst friends, it’s no secret that I hate horror films. The idea that people need to be scared to be entertained absolutely baffles my brain. What is the point?

Putting that aside, however, I bit the bullet, and in the name of being social, sat through one of the strangest cinema experiences of my life so far. Insidious follows a paranormal investigator, Elise, who returns to her beginnings following a call from an estranged man, claiming to see entities in the same house she grew up.

Story wise, the film isn’t bad. There are comedic segments that, while providing nice relief to the darkest parts of the film, they don’t always seem to gel too well into the actual story, but what can you expect? It’s not bad by any stretch, which is thoroughly surprising sentence for me to say. There you go Tillson, it was okay!

Paper and Fire & Ash and Quill (Books 2 & 3)

The Great Library series is absolutely refreshing. Books two and three continue to follow former-postulant turned High Garda soldier, Jess Brightwell and his family of library defectors must learn to survive in a world falling apart at its bindings.

The library’s grip on power has sustained through the millennia on their belief that knowledge controls, and is more valuable than life itself. Banning books, killing geniuses, and quelling every invention that could stand in their way. But the secret is out, and the rebellion is just beginning. The secrets of the Iron Tower; the power of the alchemist-like Obscurists: it’s all coming to a breaking point, and the Archivist will emerge from the dark.

I thoroughly recommend these books to any dedicated bookworm, especially when the series is complete in 2019. They’ll make you realise just how much we take knowledge for granted.

Riverdale (Seasons 1 & 2)

After demolishing my way through the fantastically superb Stranger Things over the Christmas period, this show came as the next best recommended. I can see why.

Based on the characters of the Archie Comics, Riverdale is a weird mashup of a teen drama murder mystery that sees the fabled Betty and Veronica (and co.) deal with the mishaps and undoing of the sleepy town of Riverdale following the murder of one Jason Blossom.

Without spoiling too much of this rollercoaster of a ride, the plot of Riverdale deals extremely well with intertwining crazy psycho family dilemmas, blossoming (HA) teenage relationships, and learning how to grow as individuals while, at the same time, tracking down a murderer as a cohesive unit. Each character is their own entity, with their own backstories, and it works pretty well to me.

The twists, turns and eventual ending of Season 1 will leave you delighted, and Season 2 is still in motion as we speak, so now it’s a great time to join in on the Riverdale madness. Also, the soundtrack is an absolute killer: good music, Royal Blood; yes!

Tillson, your taste in the arts strikes again! Kudos to you mon’amie!

Fall Out Boy – M A N I A

If you were to ask me which band I think continues to evolve more and more every time they go into the studio, in the best of ways, I’d tell you, simply, Fall Out Boy.

From their original body of work, FoB was seen as the epitome of ’emo’. Whilst I disagree with that sentiment, the group felt disconnected, and after the release of Folie a Deux, entered a hiatus that lasted several years. Eventually, FoB reunited, with a new ethos and sound. 2013’s Save Rock and Roll showed that the boys still had it, while at the same time evolving onwards and upwards.

Collaborating with some of the industry’s biggest stars, like Elton John and Demi Lovato showed to be a smart move, and a very good creative one and five years later, ‘M A N I A’ has hit the shelves.

I watched an episode of ‘College Kids React to Fall Out Boy’, featuring the first single off M A N I A, ‘Young and Menace’ (a song I thoroughly love, by the way). I was surprised to find that a lot of the kids couldn’t recognise FoB from what they were shown, which I guess is a testimony to the dedication that Patrick, Pete, Andy and Joe have shown to the evolution of their music.

Other amazing tracks:

The Last of the Real Ones

Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)

Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea

January: despite everything, you’ve been good to me, and you’re not even over yet! February, you’ve got a lot to live up to.